Remember that Hennis’s crimes occured before the change which permitted LWOP. So, Army Times reports:
Court recessed at 5:40 p.m. after the jury deliberated for more than two hours and also waited for the answer to three questions, including whether Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis would be eligible for parole if given a life sentence.
Judge Col. Patrick Parrish told the jury that "life means life" and reminded jurors of his instructions to impose a sentence they view as fair.
CAAF has decided United States v. Bagstad. Judge Stuckey wrote for himself, Effron and Ryan, with Baker writing a dissent for himself and Erdmann.
We granted review to determine whether the military judge abused his discretion in denying Appellant’s challenge for cause against Captain (Capt) Stojka, who sat with his subordinate on a court-martial panel composed of three members. We hold that the military judge did not err in denying the challenge for cause.
First the opinion reviews the general for challenges. The court then got into the meat of the issue.
MSNBC is reporting that the Army does intend a court-martial for LTC Lakin.
How interesting, and perhaps appropriate, American Thinker reports:
Army doctor Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin yesterday met with his brigade commander, Col. Gordon R. Roberts, who proceeded to read LTC Lakin his Miranda rights
, and who informed LTC Lakin he had the "right to remain silent" because LTC Lakin is about to be charged with serious crimes. Col. Roberts was at age 19 awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the only recipient of the nation’s highest honor currently on active duty in the Army.
Examiner.com asks:
Why would a highly placed, decorated Army officer set to be promoted to colonel risk court-martial by refusing to obey orders?
Military.com reports.
The family of a former Fort Bragg soldier convicted of killing a Fayetteville woman and two small children in 1985 on Monday begged a military jury not to sentence him to death for the crimes.
The panel of 14 Army officers and enlisted personnel last week found Master Sgt. Timothy Hennis guilty of three counts of premeditated murder and is considering his sentence.
Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:
The last of four soldiers accused of tormenting Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm, the Huron County teen who killed himself in Iraq last summer, was found guilty of minor offenses and will apparently escape serious punishment.
Staff Sgt. Bob Clements was convicted of obstruction of justice at a court martial that ended Sunday night in Kuwait. He was given a written reprimand and demoted one pay rank, according to a U.S. Army official.
The Army has a new and interesting addition to their Military Legal Resources.
Selected Papers of Edmund M. Morgan, Jr., Regarding the Drafting of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (1948-1949).
In the summer of 1948, in response to a need for a uniform military justice system in the newly reorganized and expanded post-World War II defense establishment, Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal appointed a committee to draft a uniform code of military justice (UCMJ). Secretary Forrestal selected Gordon Gray (Assistant Secretary of the Army), W.John Kenney (Under Secretary of the Navy), and Eugene M. Zuckert (Assistant Secretary of the Air Force) for the committee. He also selected Felix E. Larkin (Assistant General Counsel, Office of the Secretary of Defense) as Executive Secretary to this committee—known as the "Forrestal Committee"—and appointed Harvard Law professor Edmund Morris Morgan, Jr. (1879-1966) as chair.
1. SEALS:
Kokomo Perspective reports that:
Rep. Burton issued the following statement after the Navy dropped several charges against two Navy SEALs who are accused of mistreating terrorist mastermind Ahmed Hashim Abed, the man believed to be responsible for the infamous mutilations of four American contractors in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004.
Oooops, even his own family appears to be dissing’ him according to this report from The Greeley Tribune.
His Greeley relatives are putting distance between themselves and his birther campaign.
Lakin’s father Frank told the Greeley Tribune Friday that his son’s video wasn’t representative of the family. “This does not reflect the opinions or the attitude of the family by any means,” he said. “We’re Obama supporters.”
FayObserver reports:
A military jury has found Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis guilty of three specifications of pre-meditated murder.
The members of the court-martial panel returned with their verdict about 10:35 a.m. They had deliberated for two hours and 45 minutes over Wednesday and today
Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog